Ones Forgotten
by Rambles
Summary: Forgotten: over and done, gone, ancient history. What if it wasn't always a fine life to be a newsie? What if a newsie named Runt appeared to be invisible for all these years? Will an old journal shed some light on the not so carefree life of some newsies
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Newsies, or anything related to them…unfortunately

A/N: I know I started other stories but I seem to be in a huge writers block so I wrote another story…sorry for anyone reading those, like unmarked roads, I will try and get back to them.

I do have another chapter waiting for this story so please let me know what u think, good or bad reviews ill take them all!

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**_New York, 1942_**

"Grandma! Grandpa!" the shouting rang through the small apartment. Two older figures emerged at the newly opened front door. The smile they wore indicated that there was no trouble in the shouting. The calls were coming from a 12 year old girl whose face lit up with a smile. She ran into the house and straight into the willing arms of her grandparents.

"Maddie, look how much you've grown." The older woman addressed the girl in front of her. It had been at least 6 years since the family had been reunited. Maddie bounced around and soon ran off with her grandfather. Beyond Maddie, the old grandmother saw a woman and man in their late 30's, both of which wore weary smiles. She smiled to them and offered a warm hug.

"Hello mother, thanks for looking after Maddie for us. We should be back in a few weeks." The grandmother nodded in understanding, the couple was leaving for Pennsylvania to visit her son in laws parents, who were not doing so well.

"Thanks Anne, sorry we can't stay, but the train leaves in 30 minutes" Anne's son-in law said as he gave her a quick hug.

"Don't worry she'll be fine here, now hurry along and catch your train" Anne spoke in a soft tone that seemed to make them relax. The couple retreated out the door towards the train yards.

Anne shut the door and turned around wondering where Maddie and her husband had disappeared to. She laughed as Maddie was already begging her grandfather to tell her a story. She loved to hear stories about life in the 1800's in New York City. Shortly after she was born her parents moved into the country life, away from the bustle of the growing city. Maddie was in love with the idea of the city life and wished to be reunited with it, it reminded Anne of herself when she was that age.

"Come on you two, there will be more time for stories later but its time for dinner." The two figured frowned and pleaded with their eyes for a little more time. But the stern look Anne gave off made them hurry along towards the kitchen.

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Dinner had been over for a few hours and although Maddie was supposed to be getting ready for bed, she sat awake in her small bed. She tossed and turned, trying to let sleep take over her, but it was no use. Sighing she got up and walked towards the bathroom. The lights had been turned off in the small house, which signaled her grandparents were fast asleep. As she opened the door near the end of the hallway she frowned as she was met by a closet. She hadn't been here in many years and apparently forgot where the bathroom was.

Maddie turned around to find the real bathroom when she heard something fall to the ground. She bent down and grasped a small book; bringing it up close to her face she tried to examine it in the dark. Realizing the dark wasn't helping her any, Maddie walked back to her room, forgetting about the bathroom trip.

Maddie turned on a small light near her bed and turned the book over in her hands. The cover had seen better days and the white color was now looking yellowish. There were no words on the front of the book so she started to flip through it. The pages weren't as worn as the outside and across all the pages was writing in an old cursive. As she flipped through the book Maddie returned to the first page, the date read 1896. Curious she laid back on her bed and started to read the lines following it.

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**_The Bronx, April 1986_**

Today I turned 14 years old, and this journal was a gift from my parents. They told me I could write down any feelings or ideas I wanted in it. But I want to write a story, a story of my adventures and fun of growing up in a city. I live in the Bronx in a small 2 bedroom apartment, it wasn't much but I called it home nevertheless. I come from an Italian background which might explain my height; even for a girl I'm small…barely reaching 4'9". Other kids my age where a little taller but I had a feeling I would stay short.

My family is a typical working family, my mom works around the house while I help out and my father works in a factory in Manhattan. I used to go to school but had to stop this year to help out my mother who was pregnant. I really hope to get a baby sister so we can do lots of things together and talk about boys, all that stuff I've always wished for. I'll try and write again soon but I have to go help out my mother.

_**The Bronx, December 1896**_

Things have been hectic around here and I haven't had any time to write, but today I'm happy to say that I have a new baby brother. Although it wasn't a sister I was happy to have another kid around here. I didn't have many friends even when I was in school I didn't seem to get along with the other girls. Maybe with a brother things would be different.

-A few weeks later-

Christmas is right around the corner and I can't even get myself to be excited. My baby brother died last night, he was too weak or something. I wasn't even allowed near him for a good week, so I wasn't able to fully meet him. My mom is taking it hard and seems to becoming sick now. I know its winter and people usually fall sick but I don't want to lose my mom now. My dad walks around trying to be happy…but I see right through it, I see the worry deep within his eyes. I'm not even sure we will have a Christmas this year, at least not like the others. Hopefully I'll have some better news later on.

_**The Bronx, January 1897**_

It is now early January and the winter is taken its toll on New York and myself as well. This past month has been hard and I'm afraid of the adventures that I will come across. Right now I have settled down in a near by alley for the night. After my baby brother had died, my mother fell more and more ill, whether it was from a broken heart or from an illness I'll never know. Everything was in a blur after that; I wasn't sure what or how to act. My body was numb and in denial. My dad approached things different and put his time into working overtime. But that too seemed to go badly, a week ago the factory he was in caught on fire.

I was left on the streets, kicked out by my landlord. With no other relatives near by I ran, ran so I wouldn't be put in an orphanage. Now here I am searching the streets for a job or some place to sleep. Neither of which were working out well right now. But tonight I lucked out and found a roof that I could climb up; this left me with a place to sleep that was near by a chimney shoot. It was more warmth than I had felt in awhile and I hope tomorrow my luck will keep going up.

_**New York, 1942**_

Maddie yawned and realized it was getting very late, she put the book under the bed and slowly curled under the covers. As Maddie drifted to sleep she couldn't help but dream about this girl, and how her life seemed so sad. Was this really what living in the city was like? She had loved listening to her grandparent's stories of a time almost different than now, but she couldn't imagine living on the streets with no family. Tomorrow she vowed to read more of the diary and hopefully things would change like she had hoped.

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A/N: some of the later journal entries will be in a story mode, not just a short narrative... i have it set up like that for the later chapters but this was just to get the background going. 


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own the Newsies.

A/N: I didn't get any reviews :( and usually I don't put up a new chapter until I do but I thought id give this one more chance for some reviews…if I don't get any..this story will sadly be trashed. This is a long chapter so that you get more into the story…although if I get reviews it might take me awhile to get another one up…cause im waiting to see if I should continue..pleasee let me know.

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**_New York, 1942_**

The next day went by fairly slowly for Maddie, the whole time she helped out her grandparents around the house. But all she wanted to do was to read more of the diary. The only thing that seemed to take her mind off of it was when she went to run an errand with her grandmother. She hurried down the crowded streets following the weaving path her grandmother took. Maddie tried to imagine the mystery girl sleeping in something like this, especially since it was growing colder outside. Maddie debated asking her grandmother about the book she found, but decided to wait until she read more of it.

That night Maddie got ready for bed and waited patiently for the house lights to dim. This was when she quietly read the diary she couldn't seem to put down.

_**Brooklyn, February 1897**_

I awoke in what seemed to be a dream, and I wished it was. Last night what I thought would just be some flurries turned out to be a mild snow storm. It wouldn't have mattered if I was inside but now on the streets I can fully appreciate the house and roof I once had over my head. Sighing I picked myself up out of the snow and tried to gather my little possessions together, hiding them in the alleyway.

I had just moved on from the Bronx, it was a big change but needed. I couldn't live around my old house and neighbor hood without feeling hurt. Now I needed to find a job, something that would help me get off these unforgiving streets.

Brooklyn was a tough place, but then again the Bronx was no walk in the park either. I figured I could get along fine here, or so I hoped. It was early still as I saw very little people outside and the sun was barley making its way over the buildings. But this was what time I needed to be up. I had seen kids both young and old selling newspapers yesterday and decided I should give it a try. I had spent my day following a few of the younger kids around, listening to them selling papers to the crowds of people, it didn't seem that hard.

I now walked towards the distribution center wearing pants I had borrowed from some rooftop, I had skirts but I soon abandoned them realizing the streets weren't gentile towards girls. I was much quicker running in pants than I was in the long and heavy skirts, and even though I didn't have a hat covering my long hair, I still felt more at ease. The walk was rather short as I soon saw a loud group waiting outside the building.

I took my place at the end of the line and hoped I wouldn't be bothered. All I wanted to do was earn some money and hopefully get a place to stay. I had to admit I was still nervous about being around this many guys but it was what I had to do. The line started moving and so far I was getting around unnoticed, probably thanks to my height.

As I reached the front I pulled out the only money I had and slid it forward. The old man glanced at me and then quickly counted the money. "20 papes" he yelled into the back. I hoped that wouldn't be a lot for me to sell, since I was putting all my money into one thing.

I was soon passed a large pile of papers, I picked them up I was stunned by the weight of them. Moving them under my arm I made my way toward the gate and into the city streets. But before I could make it to the street I saw two shadows step in front of me. I gazed up, meeting the eyes of two boys. One looked very tall and muscular while the other seemed to be the opposite of him. Both boys glanced at me as they blocked my exit.

"Ya new heah kid?" the skinner one asked, as he casually played with his cane.

I nodded slowly and gave a small "Yeah" in response. His eyes continued to stare as I felt my body wanting to shrink away.

After what seemed like minutes he finally nodded and allowed me to pass. I didn't give him a second glance as I ran off into the streets ready to start working.

It took me longer than I had expected to sell all of my papers but by noon time I was done, and I figured it would take awhile to get used to it. The money in my pocket was worth the effort. I happily found a small restaurant for lunch, finally able to eat a descent meal.

As the afternoon wore on I decided it would be good if I could sell some of the afternoon edition, just to get some more money under my belt. I followed the same routine as this morning, finding my place in the back of the line and waiting. This time I wasn't bothered by anyone as I filed back into the streets with the rest of the newsies.

That night I ended up back in the streets, I hadn't found the lodging house I thought most of the boys stayed at. Maybe tomorrow would bring better luck.

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It had been about three days since I had taken up the newsies job, and today was another cold morning. I blew into my hands trying desperately to keep them warm, but to no avail. I once again found myself near the back of the long line outside the distribution center. The bell rang ahead of me, signaling the office was now open.

The usually lively newsies seemed to be drained from the weather. Their bodies were covered in a few thin layers of clothes, not enough to protect themselves from the icy wind. I sighed and realized I was now one of them. The line slowly moved along and I found myself in front of the small window.

"30" I mumbled through the hole, as I produced enough change for it. I picked up the stack and was still a little thrown off at the weight of the papers. Today seemed to be heavier, maybe it was the extra 10 papers, or maybe it was from them being cold, either way I frowned and moved on.

I thought the cold would hinder my selling, but I had found a group of people filling into a near by office building. No other newsies seemed to be around and it was a prime location with the office buildings near by. The business men seemed to feel sorry for my frail figure and I sold all 30 a little before noon.

I smiled at the thought of being done early, I was about to get some lunch when I saw one of the newsies that had talked to me the other day. He was the tall and muscular one, and from the way he walked, he walked with an air around him. I slowly followed him from a distance, hoping I could find the lodging house in doing so.

After a few twists and turns down different alley ways I could hear the slow crashing of water against the docks. I looked around and saw the kid go into a run down building. The appearance of the building made me do a double take, I wasn't sure if this was a place I could walk into but I soon noticed a sign hanging above the door. The wind was blowing it back and forth but I could make out the word "Lodging" across it. Figuring this was indeed the newsies lodging house I cautiously walked across the street towards it.

I slowly pushed the door open and stepped inside. Instantly I heard voices' coming from the floor above, apparently the cold was keeping most newsies inside instead of selling for the afternoon. The kid I had followed was still downstairs and he had now noticed I was standing in the doorway.

"What do ya want kid?" he inched forward as he acknowledged me. His voice was raised more than I had expected. I stared back at him and spoke carefully, "I need a place to stay". As soon as I had said it I found the floor to be very fascinating. I was unsure if you could just ask for a place, but it did say lodging outside, didn't it?

"Spot!" I heard the kid once again yell, this time it wasn't at me but towards the stairs. I was confused at what that meant but waited, and watched the stairs.

I heard a door slam shut followed by the echoing sounds of footsteps on the wooden floor. Soon the other newsie I had talked to appeared at the top of the stairs, the cane still hanging by his side.

"What is it Bull?" he leaned against the railing, waiting for the kid, Bull to answer.

"This runt needs a place to stay" he said motioning towards me.

The Spot kid looked me over quickly, "Alright, welcome to the Brooklyn newsies Runt. Its 5 cents a night, bunkrooms up here to the right" and with that he turned and retreated out of sight. The matter seemed to be settled as I turned to Bull he flashed me a smirk.

"Come on Runt, I'll show ya the bunkroom." I frowned, why were they calling me that?

"My names not _Runt"_ I said following him up the stairs.

"Well it is now sweetheart, if ya gonna be a newsie ya need a nickname" I sighed and walked into the bunkroom with him. The others glanced up at me and then went back to what they were doing. Bull introduced me as a new newsie, Runt. I received a few 'heys' from some of them and then that was it. The returned to what they were previously doing. I sighed, I was now a newsie, and at least I had a job and place to stay.

_**New York, 1942**_

Maddie was in love with this journal, she felt as if she was there with the girl. Who was now called Runt; she shook her head in confusion. The names they called each other weren't quite the nick names she was used to, like Maddie for Madeline. To her that was a nickname, not Spot, Bull and Runt. Personally she felt kind of bad for the girl to be called Runt but I guess that's how the newsies were. She was about to read more when she felt her eyelids falling heavily. Tomorrow she would have to finish some more of the journal; she hoped it would be filled with stories from the past of New York.

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To continue or Trash…its up to you 


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